((SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG AND THAT THIS IS SO SHORT. I DON'T HAVE VERY MUCH
TIME TO WORK ON IT, BUT I FIGURED I OWED YOU ALL ATLEAST A SHORT UPDATE))
"Harry? Harry, are you okay?" A voice that seemed to be miles away was slowly creeping into Harry Potter's ears. He blinked a couple times as a very blurry face slowly came into focus. "Harry?" He groaned, sitting up and holding his head. Blinking again, he saw his best friend Ron Weasley hunched down next to him, a concerned and on his shoulder.
"Ron? What happened?" said Harry trying to stand, but stumbled and fell back into a seated position.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Ron, jumping to grab his arm and help him stabilize. "Just stay there."
"What happened to me?" repeated Harry, taking some deep breaths and trying to relax and the spinning room began to come to a stop.
"Hell if I know. I just walked in and found you passed out on the floor. It . . .It's not your scar again . . .is it?" said Ron, apparent apprehension in his voice. He knew with Voldemort lying low, it was just a matter of time before something happened; and Harry's scar had always seemed to be an indicator in the past.
"No, my scar is fine. You say you found me just lying here? That's strange, I don't know what could have caused me to faint at all," said Harry. His breathing began to slow as everything finally became clear around him.
"You don't remember a thing?" said Ron; still hovering over his friend, not ready to let him up yet.
"No, I don't. But it's not like it's the first time," said Harry as he sighed and stood up. Ron glared at him as he did so, obviously not approving of the action.
"Do you think you should go see Madam Pomfrey?" said Ron as he sighed and stood up.
"I'll be fine. I just need to get out of here. You up for some chess?" said Harry as he walked toward the door.
"If you promise to stay put and relax for awhile, then I'm in," said Ron, following Harry out of the room and the stairway to the Gryffindor common room.
As they left, a pair of green eyes watched from underneath Harry's bed. Once they'd disappeared, Lily, in her Animagus form, crept out from the bed and slowly made her way down the stairs. She stopped to look at Harry who was playing chess with Ron for a moment before heading to the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
Eventually, she slipped into Hermione's bedroom and hopped up on her bed unnoticed by anyone. The day had not gone as planned. As soon as she'd shifted back into her human form, Harry fainted dead to the floor after barely giving her a glance. She'd heard his conversation with Ron and realized he didn't remember a thing. He's fainted from shock and she was now even further away than she was before from telling him the truth. With a sigh of frustration, Lily let slumber take her. After such an ordeal, she could use a rest.
~*~
Lily looked around cautiously to make sure no one was in the Gryffindor common room as she headed toward the door. Since the students were in classes, she knew she wouldn't have much difficulty sneaking out of Gryffindor, through the halls, and onto the grounds without being seen.
Luckily for her, no one stopped her on her way. Slinking behind bushes and trees, Lily hurried across the ground toward the Whomping Willow. As she neared it, she stopped and glanced around. Two bright eyes glowed at her from behind some bushes off to her right. Lily sighed and sauntered over now that she had found what she was looking for.
From behind the bush, a large black dog stepped out to greet her. They looked at each other for a moment before the dog turned and began leading Lily through the wood to a more secure location. Once they were far enough away, the dog seemed to nod and both the dog and the cat morphed into two adult humans.
"Did you tell him?" said Sirius taking a step toward Lily and placing a hand on the shoulder of his dear old friend.
"I had him alone, things were going well," said Lily, turning away from Sirius and casting her gaze toward the ground, "I began to transform, and he fainted." There was a slight quivering in her voice. "By the time he woke up, Ron had arrived. I watched from under Harry's bed. He didn't remember a thing."
"Oh Lily," said Sirius stepping over and enveloping her in a hug as she began to softly cry. "I know you don't want to hear this, but even Dumbledore agrees with me that it's not time yet. Harry will learn soon enough."
"I don't want to spend another day without my son. Do you understand the pain I go through on a daily basis? What I've gone through day and day for years upon end now? No mother should have to watch her child grow up and not be able to be there for him and protect him," Lily leaned away from Sirius and wiped her tears of frustration from her eyes.
"Why don't we go talk with Dumbledore?" said Sirius taking a step away and eyeing his friend to judge her reaction.
"What?" said Lily, a look of shock on her face.
"I know how badly you want to tell Harry. If we go and talk with him, he might be able to give us some answers about when you can tell Harry," said Sirius, offering her a soft smile which almost seemed foreign on his thin face.
"You're a good friend. I think talking to Dumbledore might help my situation a bit," she took a step back. Both looked at each other and nodded before changing into their Animagus forms and heading back to the castle.
~*~
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk reading over some papers when two very unlikely visitors walked through his door. That is, for any normal witch or wizard, Muggle especially for that matter, unusual. For Dumbledore however, nothing was ever out of the ordinary. He smiled at the large black dog and small cat, dwarfed by the dog, as they stood in front of his desk. Delicately, he removed his reading glasses before rubbing the bridge of his nose. Replacing his glasses, he grabbed his wand and muttered a locking charm on his door that only he could remove.
As soon as the door was secured, the animals in front of him changed into Sirius Black and Lily Potter. Dumbledore smiled and rose from his chair. Walking around his desk, he took the woman in his arms. "Lily, it has been quite some time since you've been to visit me. Sirius," he nodded at the man to her right.
"Professor.. " she began.
"Albus please. We are all member of the Order here and such a thing put as us equals," he smiled kindly at her.
"Albus," said Lily with slight hesitation, "I refuse to wait any longer to reveal to Harry that I'm still alive. He needs a mother! I cannot in good conscious let him go another day without knowing." Lily was allowing herself to get worked up.
"Alright then, please have a seat, both of you," he directed with an extended palm before making his way back to the chair behind his desk. "If you're allow, I will begin to explain to you the reason we still have you hiding your identity from Harry."
Both nodded and quietly took seats.
"As I was saying, it is still imperative for the time being that you don't reveal yourself to Harry." Lily moved to speak, but Sirius put a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and relaxed back into her chair, letting Professor Dumbledore continue.
"I can tell you for certain, that this Halloween, on the 15th anniversary of Voldemort's attack on your home, you are more than welcome to tell Harry anything you wish. I would even tell him myself if you'd prefer. But I must stress the importance of you waiting the next month and a half before taking any action."
Lily nodded even though she held a small look of dismay displayed in her tight lips and slightly narrowed eyes.
"I plan seeing both of you in my office that morning for the next meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. We will be discussing some very important issues and launching our main plan in the fight against Voldemort. I will have various members returning to make reports to me that night. If all goes well, we will be able to be fully prepared before Voldemort has any chance to launch an attack." With that, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair having obviously finished. It wasn't even for Lily however. But, especially with the look Sirius was giving her, she chose to remain silent.
"Thank you P. Albus," said Lily as Sirius led her to the office door with a hand on the small of her back. Sirius gave a small smile to the elderly man before both shifted back into their Animagus forms and left.
Just as the door closed behind them, a head popped into Professor Dumbledore's fireplace. "Albus?! Are you there?" A male voice drew his attention to the fire. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, just a moment," he replied, rising from his chair and making his way to the fireplace. Kneeling down, he came face to face with a mid- aged, dark haired man. "This is a surprise. I wasn't expecting a report from you for at least another two weeks," said Dumbledore in a very calm tone giving no note to his claimed surprise.
"I have some important news that couldn't wait," said the man in the fire. "As you know, I've had been tailing Peter since he last left Hogwarts. After his brief stay with Voldemort, which I already spoke with you about, he left to Australia. I've been following him since then and for the past two months; he's remained there leading a small meeting among some very dark wizards, all whom are not presently death eaters. They've been discussing and alliance and a date.. " his voice trailed off.
"I understand. Thank you for this information. I will alert the others as I see fit, and announce it to everyone at the meeting which had been already been schedule. But in light of this new information, I'm stepping up the date to October 20th. I trust you'll be back with us by then? We're going to need you if what Pettigrew has been dealing with is truth."
"Of course," replied the very weary voice before popping out of view.
Dumbledore sighed as he hoisted his tired, old body off the floor and back to his desk. He sighed as he took out a stack of parchments from a desk drawer and began addressing them to members of the Order to inform them of the urgent change in meeting date.
"Harry? Harry, are you okay?" A voice that seemed to be miles away was slowly creeping into Harry Potter's ears. He blinked a couple times as a very blurry face slowly came into focus. "Harry?" He groaned, sitting up and holding his head. Blinking again, he saw his best friend Ron Weasley hunched down next to him, a concerned and on his shoulder.
"Ron? What happened?" said Harry trying to stand, but stumbled and fell back into a seated position.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Ron, jumping to grab his arm and help him stabilize. "Just stay there."
"What happened to me?" repeated Harry, taking some deep breaths and trying to relax and the spinning room began to come to a stop.
"Hell if I know. I just walked in and found you passed out on the floor. It . . .It's not your scar again . . .is it?" said Ron, apparent apprehension in his voice. He knew with Voldemort lying low, it was just a matter of time before something happened; and Harry's scar had always seemed to be an indicator in the past.
"No, my scar is fine. You say you found me just lying here? That's strange, I don't know what could have caused me to faint at all," said Harry. His breathing began to slow as everything finally became clear around him.
"You don't remember a thing?" said Ron; still hovering over his friend, not ready to let him up yet.
"No, I don't. But it's not like it's the first time," said Harry as he sighed and stood up. Ron glared at him as he did so, obviously not approving of the action.
"Do you think you should go see Madam Pomfrey?" said Ron as he sighed and stood up.
"I'll be fine. I just need to get out of here. You up for some chess?" said Harry as he walked toward the door.
"If you promise to stay put and relax for awhile, then I'm in," said Ron, following Harry out of the room and the stairway to the Gryffindor common room.
As they left, a pair of green eyes watched from underneath Harry's bed. Once they'd disappeared, Lily, in her Animagus form, crept out from the bed and slowly made her way down the stairs. She stopped to look at Harry who was playing chess with Ron for a moment before heading to the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
Eventually, she slipped into Hermione's bedroom and hopped up on her bed unnoticed by anyone. The day had not gone as planned. As soon as she'd shifted back into her human form, Harry fainted dead to the floor after barely giving her a glance. She'd heard his conversation with Ron and realized he didn't remember a thing. He's fainted from shock and she was now even further away than she was before from telling him the truth. With a sigh of frustration, Lily let slumber take her. After such an ordeal, she could use a rest.
~*~
Lily looked around cautiously to make sure no one was in the Gryffindor common room as she headed toward the door. Since the students were in classes, she knew she wouldn't have much difficulty sneaking out of Gryffindor, through the halls, and onto the grounds without being seen.
Luckily for her, no one stopped her on her way. Slinking behind bushes and trees, Lily hurried across the ground toward the Whomping Willow. As she neared it, she stopped and glanced around. Two bright eyes glowed at her from behind some bushes off to her right. Lily sighed and sauntered over now that she had found what she was looking for.
From behind the bush, a large black dog stepped out to greet her. They looked at each other for a moment before the dog turned and began leading Lily through the wood to a more secure location. Once they were far enough away, the dog seemed to nod and both the dog and the cat morphed into two adult humans.
"Did you tell him?" said Sirius taking a step toward Lily and placing a hand on the shoulder of his dear old friend.
"I had him alone, things were going well," said Lily, turning away from Sirius and casting her gaze toward the ground, "I began to transform, and he fainted." There was a slight quivering in her voice. "By the time he woke up, Ron had arrived. I watched from under Harry's bed. He didn't remember a thing."
"Oh Lily," said Sirius stepping over and enveloping her in a hug as she began to softly cry. "I know you don't want to hear this, but even Dumbledore agrees with me that it's not time yet. Harry will learn soon enough."
"I don't want to spend another day without my son. Do you understand the pain I go through on a daily basis? What I've gone through day and day for years upon end now? No mother should have to watch her child grow up and not be able to be there for him and protect him," Lily leaned away from Sirius and wiped her tears of frustration from her eyes.
"Why don't we go talk with Dumbledore?" said Sirius taking a step away and eyeing his friend to judge her reaction.
"What?" said Lily, a look of shock on her face.
"I know how badly you want to tell Harry. If we go and talk with him, he might be able to give us some answers about when you can tell Harry," said Sirius, offering her a soft smile which almost seemed foreign on his thin face.
"You're a good friend. I think talking to Dumbledore might help my situation a bit," she took a step back. Both looked at each other and nodded before changing into their Animagus forms and heading back to the castle.
~*~
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk reading over some papers when two very unlikely visitors walked through his door. That is, for any normal witch or wizard, Muggle especially for that matter, unusual. For Dumbledore however, nothing was ever out of the ordinary. He smiled at the large black dog and small cat, dwarfed by the dog, as they stood in front of his desk. Delicately, he removed his reading glasses before rubbing the bridge of his nose. Replacing his glasses, he grabbed his wand and muttered a locking charm on his door that only he could remove.
As soon as the door was secured, the animals in front of him changed into Sirius Black and Lily Potter. Dumbledore smiled and rose from his chair. Walking around his desk, he took the woman in his arms. "Lily, it has been quite some time since you've been to visit me. Sirius," he nodded at the man to her right.
"Professor.. " she began.
"Albus please. We are all member of the Order here and such a thing put as us equals," he smiled kindly at her.
"Albus," said Lily with slight hesitation, "I refuse to wait any longer to reveal to Harry that I'm still alive. He needs a mother! I cannot in good conscious let him go another day without knowing." Lily was allowing herself to get worked up.
"Alright then, please have a seat, both of you," he directed with an extended palm before making his way back to the chair behind his desk. "If you're allow, I will begin to explain to you the reason we still have you hiding your identity from Harry."
Both nodded and quietly took seats.
"As I was saying, it is still imperative for the time being that you don't reveal yourself to Harry." Lily moved to speak, but Sirius put a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and relaxed back into her chair, letting Professor Dumbledore continue.
"I can tell you for certain, that this Halloween, on the 15th anniversary of Voldemort's attack on your home, you are more than welcome to tell Harry anything you wish. I would even tell him myself if you'd prefer. But I must stress the importance of you waiting the next month and a half before taking any action."
Lily nodded even though she held a small look of dismay displayed in her tight lips and slightly narrowed eyes.
"I plan seeing both of you in my office that morning for the next meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. We will be discussing some very important issues and launching our main plan in the fight against Voldemort. I will have various members returning to make reports to me that night. If all goes well, we will be able to be fully prepared before Voldemort has any chance to launch an attack." With that, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair having obviously finished. It wasn't even for Lily however. But, especially with the look Sirius was giving her, she chose to remain silent.
"Thank you P. Albus," said Lily as Sirius led her to the office door with a hand on the small of her back. Sirius gave a small smile to the elderly man before both shifted back into their Animagus forms and left.
Just as the door closed behind them, a head popped into Professor Dumbledore's fireplace. "Albus?! Are you there?" A male voice drew his attention to the fire. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, just a moment," he replied, rising from his chair and making his way to the fireplace. Kneeling down, he came face to face with a mid- aged, dark haired man. "This is a surprise. I wasn't expecting a report from you for at least another two weeks," said Dumbledore in a very calm tone giving no note to his claimed surprise.
"I have some important news that couldn't wait," said the man in the fire. "As you know, I've had been tailing Peter since he last left Hogwarts. After his brief stay with Voldemort, which I already spoke with you about, he left to Australia. I've been following him since then and for the past two months; he's remained there leading a small meeting among some very dark wizards, all whom are not presently death eaters. They've been discussing and alliance and a date.. " his voice trailed off.
"I understand. Thank you for this information. I will alert the others as I see fit, and announce it to everyone at the meeting which had been already been schedule. But in light of this new information, I'm stepping up the date to October 20th. I trust you'll be back with us by then? We're going to need you if what Pettigrew has been dealing with is truth."
"Of course," replied the very weary voice before popping out of view.
Dumbledore sighed as he hoisted his tired, old body off the floor and back to his desk. He sighed as he took out a stack of parchments from a desk drawer and began addressing them to members of the Order to inform them of the urgent change in meeting date.